Indwelt by Glory
Hey, hello there, friend, you come right on up here on this ol’ front porch and rest yourself a good ol’ spell. If you were any more welcome here, I’d have to run off that nosy lil’ ol’ beaver that keeps waddlin’ up from the creek like it’s inspectin’ things around here for a construction project and hush that ol’ wide-eyed owl over there perched on the porch rail lookin’ at you like it’s waitin’ for a rock concert to git started. This ol’ place has seen everything from a wily lil’ fox that tried to sneak off with my dish towel to a squirrel that hopped up on the step like it wanted to register for public school. So, you’ll be mighty comfortable around here watchin’ what is sometimes a three-ring circus on some days. Let’s settle our hearts and let God’s Word drift through our spirits like the smell of some fresh-baked, warm peach cobbler swimmin’ in some creamy homemade vanilla ice cream. Mmmm.
Galatians 2:20 says, “I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.” Friend, that is not just poetry. That’s the very heartbeat of the Christian life. Paul was not braggin’. He was plum testifyin’. He knew that once Christ moved in, the ol’ life packed its bags and left town. Christ didn’t come to decorate your life. He downright came to be your life.
A country preacher once told a story about Miss Laverne, a quiet woman who lived near the pine woods. She kept a little lantern by her door and said she never walked anywhere without it. One day somebody asked her why in the world she carried that lantern even in broad daylight. She said, “Because I want to remember that I don’t walk by my own light anymore.” That there lantern reminded her that Christ lived in her, guided her, and shined through her. The preacher said Miss Laverne understood somethin’ most folks plum forget. Whoever lights your path becomes your master.
That there’s why Colossians 3:16 tells us, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.” And Ephesians 3:17 adds, “That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith.” God never wanted to just visit you. He wanted to plum inhabit you. Christ in you is not a slogan. It’s then real miracle of redemption.
Friend, you’re not plum ordinary. You’re a Christ-in-you kind of person walkin’ around this world. Every step you take carries His life, His wisdom, and His power.
Father, thank You for the life of Christ that fills me, leads me, and transforms me. Help me live conscious of Your presence in me. Let Your Word dwell richly in my heart. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Alright then, friend, let your heart settle into the truth you just heard like an ol’ rockin’ chair easin’ into its favorite groove on this ol’ porch. You gotta be lettin’ Christ’s life in you git to risin’ up the way a dawn mist climbs through the pines, quiet but sure. You gotta be studyin’ so that His Word can be steadyin’ you the way a strong fence post holds firm when the wind gets mighty rowdy. And you gotta be askin’ Him to let His presence wrap around your spirit like a real warm quilt stitched by hands that know you well. You’ve gotta be carryin’ His life, His light, and His love, and that’ll make you richer than any treasure tucked away in any mountain hollow. Now, go on and live like somebody who’s got Christ Himself dwellin’ right inside, because friend, if you’re His child, you truly do.
With joy,
Gwen
